Thursday, June 6, 2019

Thursday Art Date: Trees


Hello Friends :)

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date!!! Today's theme is TREES. Trees are one of my favourite of all the wonders that Nature provides to us! I love all trees! I paint them, I photograph them, I hide from them (in my dreams!) and I hug them! And I could swear at times they hug me back! ;)  I took the photo above the other day on my walk in the woods...what do you see? I saw some kind of creature with a bird's face!


Does anyone remember Snow White fleeing from the Huntsman into the Haunted Forest? Poor little gal, that evil step-mother sure got what she deserved in that tale! Can you believe that Disney originally put that movie out in 1937??? I did this one with sharpies and Prismacolor pencils.


With Snow White's trees in mind, I wanted to create a more cheerful tree so I pulled out my pastels. I felt it was a bit bland at first, so I put in some detail with Prismacolor pencils. I have "chalk" pastels, does anyone use oil pastels? I'd love to hear your opinion of them! I'm thinking of getting a set this week with my Michaels' Coupon!


I love acrylics for black and white painting. This tree comes from one of my nightmares...let's leave it at that! :)


I was having a LOT of difficulty with my watercolour trees this week...(I restarted 3 times)...until finally I decided to follow a You Tube tutorial on how to paint trees with watercolours. I'm so glad I did because I was trying to put too much paint on my canvas and not enough water. Do any of you artists brush up your skills from time to time? I love how these turned out and they were very easy to do!


Another watercolour tree tutorial...although at the last minute I added fireflies! :)


I had a really nice healthy dinner the other night! Tilapia with corn on the cob and a little salad with my first Buttercrunch lettuce!!! I just couldn't wait any longer, so I picked a few of the baby leaves...I wonder if I'll ever make it to growing an entire head!


Last night I felt like something potato-ey and mustard-ey...So I made my French Quarter Potatoes (ham instead of sausage and chicken) with the leftover corn on the cob, delicious!!

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June 13th: Next Thursday's theme is Garden. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration!

Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.

Don't forget to add the URL link to you post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations!

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39 comments:

  1. I love trees, too, Rain, and I enjoyed each of your tree creations in this post. I love that you added fireflies to your mystical forest watercolor. They add depth to your painting; and they seems to be teasing me to follow straight into the forest. I've never been afraid of trees, although I've been afraid in them when I climbed too high and my fear of heights suddenly kicked in. I've had to be rescued sobbing and shaking from a number of trees, most memorably when I was eating cherries (basically stealing) in a farmer's tree, got terrified, and the farmer had to rescue me. LOL I'm getting such fun out of this series of posts!

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  2. Rain,

    Now that you mention it, I do recall the scene with Snow White running through the spooky forest with the trees almost looming at her from all directions. The sharpies add the intensity needed for a dark forest. Nice job! I'd love to try oil pastels not chalk since I'm allergic to the dust. I'll be eager to see what your readers share. Your acrylic tree scene is haunting. I don't think I've ever had a nightmare involving trees but it's interesting that I also illustrated a night scene for today's prompt. I like both of your watercolor paintings of trees, especially the first one - very nice trees. I'm glad you pointed out the fireflies in the second one. That's really cool. We began seeing lightning bugs at the end of May which is a bit early or it seems to be early to me. Of course, it's a lot warmer here then there and I suspect the heat is why we're seeing them before usual. Great prompt this week. I had lots of fun with it. Have a tree-ific day! :D

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  3. Will be pulling my TREES together today. YAY....I love trees, esp older ones that have such cool shapes and looks. Love corn on the cob. I love corn period. Hard on the gut but my fave veggie. I actually had a small bowl of corn for dinner last night...yep, that was it, corn. YUM.

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  4. You've captured all the moods of trees!

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  5. I love your artwork!

    Scary trees though...yikes.




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  6. Love all your trees today, the tiny Snow White in the woods is so effective. Yummy food too!

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  7. Such talent you have at your fingertips! (Burbling out of your fingertips?) That last watercolor of trees (with fire flies!)
    reminds me so much of burned over areas in our neck of the woods. We've had some bad fires over the years, but it's always amazing the way nature starts the regrowth almost immediately.

    Paint on, cook on, blog on, my friend!

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  8. i love the tree with the moon and the ones with the fireflies. now i want corn on the cob! we won't get local corn until the end of july but i bet i can find some from the south. i am so excited for all the local produce to be ready.

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  9. Hi! My name is Jan. I just dropped by from Christine's blog and fell in love with this blog. I am now a new follower.
    We have our own woods and I, too, see things in our trees that aren't actually there :)
    Have a great day...Jan

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  10. I'm with you, Rain. I love trees. They are totally magical. And I love your art!

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  11. Hi Louise :) Thank you so much! I love the fireflies too...I was just going to paint the tutorial as is, but I wanted to make it a little more magical, maybe they're fairies? :) Oh that's awful, afraid of heights AND caught eating cherries!!! You poor gal! :) I'm so happy you enjoy the posts!!! I certainly am! :)

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  12. Hi Cathy :) Thank you! I think it's a done deal that I'm going to try out the oil pastels...I do love the look of pastels, but that dust is very annoying and it's toxic, not good for humans or pets...whenever I have my pastels out, I have to be very careful to get rid of the dust in a bag or the garbage can directly. I'll let you know when I try them out! I've heard fireflies called lightening bugs too, I haven't seen any yet this year, but usually in August they light up our little forest behind the house! I can't wait to see them! Oh lol...you have a tree-ific day too! :))) I love how you play on words!!

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  13. the tree photo - I see someone washing their long hair, though I think it's rather sad to see a damaged tree like this even if it was done by nature

    I don't remember snow white much even though I did saw that movie, I remember a more recent remake where it's a lot scarier

    I like your watercolor trees.

    I have just posted my piece though it is not a new piece, I hope that's okay. it takes me a long while to finish even one. hopefully, I'll do something new for the other themes.

    have a lovely day.

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  14. Hi Pam :) I'm the same, I love old gnarly looking trees, they really tell a story. I hope you make it to the art date today, I want to see your trees!!! :) I LOVE corn on the cob...can't get enough with butter and salt..yum!


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  15. Thanks Sandi! :) Yeah...scary trees are a yikes thing for me too.

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  16. Thanks Mama Pea :) Yes! Burbling! I love that!!! :) You got the last watercolour spot on, it's a burned out forest that is (hopefully) being rejuvenated with new growth soon! I thought I'd add in the fireflies (fairies?) to help along with the magic of renewal. :)

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  17. Thanks Joyce :) Oh the corn...our season here is nowhere near but I keep finding some great sweet corn from the U.S....don't know where it just says "product of USA". I can't wait for the local harvest!

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  18. Thanks Jan :) Welcome!! So glad you're here!! After visiting your blog with your beautiful paintings, I wonder if you'd like to join in the Thursday Art Date? I'd love to see your interpretations if you want to, no pressure! :) I LOVE trees...I used to go on walks in the woods with my camera to SPECIFICALLY look for faces in the trees! They are so expressive and fun! :)

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  19. Thanks Susan :) Trees are very soulful to me, magical definitely!! I guess that's why I love and fear them hee hee! ;)

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  20. Hi Lissa :) Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you came to our date today :) Yes, we had a terrible winter, the first time I walked in the woods this year, there was so much tree damage. Are you talking about "The Huntsman" movie? I didn't see that one yet, but I do remember the old cartoon and being afraid when I first saw it!

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  21. yes, I was referring to 'the huntsman' movie, it's a decent movie but you might be disappointed if you like the disney version a lot since it's not the same at all, certaintly the tone is completely different.

    have a lovely day.

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  22. Lissa, actually I like Disney films a lot, but I have read many of the "cautionary tales" that Disney has based their movies on in Grimm's Fairy Tales - they all don't end very well! I like the realistic films more. But Disney is fun too. :)

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  23. I really love that Snow White under the trees...and your nightmare tree is just that- it looks like it came from a bad dream-a bit scary and eerie.

    Love to come here to see what you have been up to, Rain.

    Have a great night- xo Diana

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  24. Thanks Diana :) I loved the scary parts of Snow White! :) And yes, that tree is definitely scary to me! :)

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  25. Oh, how lovely that you are hosting an art date.

    I feel quite similar about trees, love them. They are like meditating Buddha's for me. Holding sacred space that helps me remember my center.

    your art pieces are lovely and charming.
    Your broken tree photo reminds me of a tree that came down the other day... but my tree is huge and will be made into firewood when I get around to it.

    I hope I get inspired to join you sometime.

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  26. Thanks Tammie :) Nice to hear from you! I also hope it inspires you to join in when you feel like it, your art is so lovely! :) I love how you put it, "meditating Buddha's"...I totally agree with that! We had such a long hard winter too, there are so many trees that have fallen/broken/split in the forest. I'm glad you're able to recycle them to heat your home!

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  27. I love trees too . . . They provide us with fresh air, they shade us in the hot summer, they provide a warm fire in the winter, some provide us with fruit and nuts and dare we not forget the pleasure of having a swing from the branches of a tall tree and the song birds that nest there. Personally I've
    never had them scare me as you have . . . I'M so sorry.
    We had roasted corn on the cob tonight too . . . So yummy :)
    Thank you Rain, for the encouraging comments you leave on my blog Life has been hard lately, but I am a woman of faith and I know that I will never walk through these hard times alone. You are a sweet friend and I truly appreciate your love and concern.
    Thank you!
    Connie

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  28. I'm really enjoying your artwork, Rain! Looks like you are, too. And you've reminded me that I'm way overdue for a nice fish dinner. I really like seafood and actually prefer it to meat. In fact, my meat consumption is extremely low lately. I just don't seem to have an appetite for it. Did you have nice weather today? It was gorgeous here. We finally had warm weather and - wait for it - sunshine! Yeah, sunshine :)

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  29. I love all your tree paintings and, believe it or not, I'm drawn to the one from your nightmares. What can I say...I do love black and white art. Nicely work, Rain!

    That corn looks delicious!

    I'll look forward to joining in on Thursdays with you all. I'm so glad you started a challenge as it might be just what I need to get me back to my sketching.

    Heartfelt thanks for the kind and caring comments you left on my blog re. Cody's passing and my surgery post. Much appreciated. I did reply to both this morning.

    Have a lovely weekend! xx

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  30. Hi Connie :) You're very welcome! :) xx I love how you described trees!!! And even though they have scared me, I still love them dearly! :) Thank you!

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  31. Thanks Martha :) I'm very much enjoying the art! I'm feeling so creative lately too. Oh the fish...I definitely prefer it over any meat or poultry. But dang is it expensive. Makes no sense. And to answer your question, we had very nice weather all weekend!! Finally up to the high 20's and I'm loving it. But alas, the darn black flies decided to show up too!

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  32. Thank you Serena :) And you're welcome, I'm so glad you visited! I hope you're feeling better, you had a very rough year so far. I hope you get back to your art, you're so talented!! It'll be fun to see your pieces again. :) I was really drawn to the black and white one too, the tree fascinated me in my dream (to the point of horror lol!)...but I had to paint it out, I guess it's a little therapy at the same time!! :)

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  33. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    your art is improving tremendously dear Rain !

    specially this moon tree is hold my breath for while so grave so absorbing indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    yes trees hug me back too and i still find them so close whenever i visit to my native town :) they remind me time when i was used to play and swing with them and i used to make pillow house on them with friends ah time passes so quickly

    i thoroughly LOVED each stroke of your here ,wonderful and beautiful :)

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  34. Trees are tricky. I love them, though.

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  35. My favorite of your art is the black and white one, definitly captures a spooky mood and I can hear a wolf howling. I also like those blue, watercolor trees right after. I recently bought my youngest a watercolor pad. I hope she makes some time to take it for a drive.

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❤ Thanks for your comment, I love hearing from everyone! ❤ Why not join me and my fellow artists every Thursday for TADD? That's Thursday Art and Dinner Date! It's a lot of fun!
Love,
Rain